Egypt

Map of Egypt

Nuclear power in Egypt

Nuclear power

"Back in 1983 the El-Dabaa site on the Mediterranean coast was selected for a nuclear plant but this scheme was scrapped after the Chernobyl accident.

In 2006, the same site was named in plans to build a 1000 MWe reactor for electricity generation and water desalination by 2015, in a $1.5-$2 billion project that would be open to foreign participation."
(source: world-nuclear.org)

"Egypt has has a 22-MW nuclear research reactor at Inshas in the Nile Delta, built by INVAP S.A. of Argentina, which began operation in 1997. In March 2008 Egypt signed an agreement with Russia to assistant in building Egypt’s first 1,000-MW nuclear plant at al-Dabaa."
(source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cabs/Egypt/Electricity.html)

Electricity generation in Egypt

"Egypt plans to expand electricity capacity to 32,000 megawatts (MW) over the next five years. The minister, Hassan Yunis, announced that the additional capacity will come principally from 11 new thermal plants and expansions: Kureimat 2 and 3, Talkha, Tabbin, Nuberiya 3, Cairo West, Sidi Krier, el-Atf, Abu Qir, Ain Sokhna and Sharm el-Sheikh. In 2005, nearly 75 percent of Egypt's electric generating capacity was powered by natural gas, some 14 percent by petroleum products, and the remaining 12 percent by hydroelectric, mostly from the Aswan High Dam according to the IEA.

In pursuance of its reform agenda, the Egyptian government has set an ambitious renewable energy program to generate 500 MW of solar energy, 600 MW of wind power, and 600 MW of hydroelectric power by 2017. Egypt is building a new hybrid power plant – the Integrated Solar Combined Cycle power plant - at Kureimat as a BOOT project, which will have 30 MW of solar capacity out of a total planned capacity of 150 MW. The World Bank will provide a $327.57 million financing package from its Global Environmental Facility which will offset the cost difference between the solar capacity and thermal capacity. Egypt has also built a wind farm at Zafarana that has been operational since 2004 at an output capacity of 80 MW that is expected to increase to 160 MW during 2008. A Netherlands-funded project is also building 60 MW worth of wind power units in the Suez Canal area."
(source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cabs/Egypt/Electricity.html)

Development in the nuclear sector

2010-01-16

"Sun Jan 16, 2011 2:38pm GMT

By Amena Bakr

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Egypt will issue a tender for its nuclear power plants in about two weeks time and bidding companies will be given six months to present their offers, its minister of electricity and energy said on Sunday.

The Arab world's most populous country is aiming to shift away from oil and gas to other sources and has said it wants to build four nuclear plants by 2025, with the first to start operating in 2019.

"The tender should be out by the end of January and is now being reviewed by the state council," Hassan Younes told Reuters in an interview in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi.

Officials hope the new nuclear programme will add capacity of up to 4,000 megawatts by 2025.

"We have received interest for the bid from companies in all parts of the world including France, the United States, China, Russia and Japan," said Younes. The winner of the bid will be announced by the end of July or beginning of August 2012, he added.

The ministry had invited several firms for consultancy and project briefings, including French nuclear reactor maker Areva, engineering group Alstom and Westinghouse Electric Co, a U.S.-based unit of Japan's Toshiba.

In 2009, Egypt signed a deal with Australia's WorleyParsons for a nuclear power consultancy.

On Sunday, Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's biggest listed builder, said it had formed a joint venture with state-owned Arab Contractors to bid on nuclear projects in the Middle East, including Egypt's first nuclear power plant.

That plant will be located in Dabaa on the country's Mediterranean coast.

Asked about possible political tension that could arise from Egypt using nuclear power, Younes said there was no intention of enriching uranium domestically and the energy will be used for peaceful purposes.

"This is a peaceful nuclear programme, so there are no problems," he added.

Last year, the United Nations slapped a fourth round of sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment, which with further refinement can yield materials for weapons.

Western powers fear Iran is using its nuclear programme to develop weapons, while Tehran says it needs power generation to meet rapidly rising demand.

Egypt has installed capacity of about 23,500 MW, but strained to meet demand during an unusually hot summer, leading to intermittent power cuts across the grid. It has said it aims for an additional 58,000 MW of capacity to the grid by 2027.

"The growth rate for power demand in the peak hours was up 11.2 percent from previous summer, but this summer I don't expect there will be any outages because we increased our power generation by 6 percent which is 1500 mega watts," said Younes.""

2009-08-26: Egypt receives nuclear safety consultancy bids

"Egypt is considering six bids from international firms to provide support and advice on setting up the country's nuclear safety regulatory framework.

Hassan Younis, minister of energy and electricity, said that bids were received from undisclosed Canadian, French, German, South Korean, UK and US and companies. The six were shortlisted from a total of 17 gathered after a request put out in April last year.

The selected consultant will be responsible for training workers in nuclear safety issues, including the use of safety codes used in the assessment and monitoring of nuclear power plants. The training will also cover the preparation and implementation of quality management systems and the preparation of regulations. The move is intended to enable a nuclear regulatory body, up to international standards, to be created in Egypt prior to the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant.

In December 2008, the Energy and Electricity Ministry announced that it had decided to award a $180 million contract to Bechtel to choose the reactor technology, select the site for the plant, organise training and provide technical services over some ten years. However, the government later transferred this contract to Australia-based engineering consultants Worley Parsons.

Worley Parsons then announced in June a contract with the Egyptian Nuclear Power Plant Authority (NPPA) for a proposed 1200 MWe plant. The initial phase of the contract will involve site and technology selection studies followed by work relating to the plant's design, construction management, commissioning and start-up. The contract was expected to be worth some $160 million over eight years.

Last week, Younis told a meeting of the industry and energy committee of the Shura Council (the upper house of the Egyptian parliament) that Worley Parsons was progressing with site selection studies, although El-Dabaa remained the preferred site."
(source: world-nuclear.org)